Artists perform during the opening of the FIFA Congress 2014 in Rio de Janeiro on June 10, 2014, held two days before the opening game of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil. We have just received news that the matches will be broadcast here in Thailand, but not all of them on free TV. AFP PHOTO/ FABRICE up television broadcast rights.
World Cup broadcasts go ahead, but free TV limited
There will be no black screen, no local blackout of the World Cup. At the moment, if you want to watch all 64 World Cup 2014, you can, but you'll have to pay – maybe. Here are the details from our online reporters.
The Supreme Administrative Court has just ruled in RS Plc's favour in a case where the telecom regulator tried to force RS to broadcast all 64 World Cup 2014 matches on free TV.
This means that only 22 matches, including the opening and final ones, will be aired on Channel 7 and 8.
The remaining 20 matches to be broadcast on free TV will be at the discretion of RS but they will likely spread across all rounds.
The first three matches to be aired on free TV are: Brazil-Croatia, Mexico-Cameroon and Uruguay-Costa Rica.
Viewers seeking to watch all 64 matches will have three options.
First, they can buy the RS World Cup set-top box, costing 1,590 baht each.
Second, viewers of PSI pay-TV service can watch the matches if they buy the new PSI-O2 HD box.
Third, TrueVisions will carry the World Cup channel by RS, both in standard and high-definition resolution, for its members at no extra charge.
In the latest development, the the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said it might use the money from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Reserve Development Fund for the Public Interest to subsidise the broadcast. A briefing will be held later today.